Whispers of words , secrets and life
by tacet tenebris88
Summary: would you let the one you love die without ever telling them how you feel... Phil Coulson is put to the test but who will hear his plea?
1. Chapter 1

p class="western" style="margin-bottom: .46in; line-height: 100%;"br /span style="text-decoration: underline;"span style="font-size: 12pt;"Chapter 1 - A splash and a spark./span/span/p  
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: .46in; line-height: 100%;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"span style="font-size: 12pt;" T/span/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt;"he world was black, her shoulders burnt like hell and that was when the water splashed in her face, her consciousness immediately adapting to her surroundings and counting the number of people she was in the room with and all escape routes that she could take once she dropped from the /br /Russo, the Italian police chief, was informing her that they had a deal with Quinn to allow safe passage of products through the Italian countryside, part of her mind was focusing on the situation and the other part was thinking about Coulson, her handsome Coulson. A lot had changed recently but nothing changed the longing that tugged in her heart every time she thought, saw or even touched him. br /br /Sometimes he entered her mind at inappropriate times like when she was flying and had also begun to cause lapses in concentration. Before she could even attempt to stop the police chief, she felt the knife sink into her shoulder and searing pain around the /br /After that, she didn't feel much and she knew from past experiences that the pain will not register with her, at least not so much anymore, Bahrain certainly helped with that department but the memories were safely hidden deeper than the depths of the Shield freezer. The only thing that she does feel is the warm trickle of blood running down her collarbone and breast following gravity to the floor below. She wondered if Coulson felt anything like this, how did his heart beat now it had been rebuilt? Did it beat for her, like hers beat only for him? Oh, she wished she had the guts to tell him but one thing was for sure, when it came to Coulson he was so out of reach and he only saw her as a best friend, a confidant and shoulder to lean /br /She looked down and saw the knife sticking out of her, boy was she beyond pissed, the Police chief looked so smug like he had won a victory and was about to win the war but he heard a voice say, "That's just what I needed." Before the police chief could even raise a pinkie finger or register what was going on, he was staring at one very wet but a very unrestrained Melinda May. The look on her face would make the fiercest of men run and Russo was no different, he might be a traitor but he was not /br /No less than 5 minutes later, Melinda May surveyed the unconscious bodies scattered across the floor but noticed that Russo was missing. A searing pain shot through her shoulder where the knife was, she notice something was wrong with the wound, it was still seeping with blood and had a green sticky substance surrounding the wound. She grabbed a dirty, mud-ridden cloth from the desk across the room and put it over the wound, she knew there was a chance of an infection but she had more important things to be thinking about. She looked around and notice that Russo had disappeared and her heart stopped, her first thought, as always was Phil Coulson. She knew where Russo was heading and whom he was heading for, no way while she was breathing would he make it to his /br /She set off at a record speed and left only the dust of the earth behind her and the sunshine lighting her steps as she went. She would die if Coulson was killed, the very thought caused a pain in her chest greater then any knife ever has or /br /She came across the little white truck and knew she needed it to get back if she was ever going to stop Russo from his one-man mission. She hot wired the truck and heard the engine roar to life, the blood rushing round her ears and pumping through her heart. The wheels screeched in the dirt as she hit the accelerator and moved like a bat out of hell./span/p 


	2. A clean and a memory

Coulson and Ward were on the Bus, attempting to manoeuvre their way around the domain of Fitzsimmons. The Holotable came to life after Ward felt across the steal edge of the table, he sighed, why did things always look easier when Fitzsimmons were using these things.

The table glowed to life and the holographic objects that they had taken when the train had disappeared were now projections and rays of light to be changed and distorted at a whim. He waved across the object and a whirring noise could be heard but it did not get any bigger. He then used both hands and still the object stretched, whirred and shrunk back to its original size. Coulson came in with a far a way look on his face, the bus was not the same without Melinda, there was a great gaping hole, an empty cockpit where she usually would be. He needed to tell her, tell how he felt about her but he knew that if he did she would most likely knock him flat on his back and tell him to stop being stupid.

When he came back into the room, he could see Ward pitifully attempting to use the Holotable, what was even more pitiful is that he couldn't use it either and yet Fitzsimmons made it look so easy. Two fully-grown men could do nothing except make the multi million dollar consol whirr. Coulson looked at Ward, "Lets just send the specs to HQ." Ward glanced at Coulson and voiced his agreement, "Yeah I think that would be best."

Coulson went back to his office and sat at his desk with his eyes closed thinking about happier times and when May was his. No one could ever say May was truly theirs, she was after all not a possession but in his mind he had held her and made love to her a thousand times over. She had his heart so she might as well have everything else too. He imagined, in the privacy of his own mind, opening his office door and she's be stood with a champagne bottle and two glasses and strawberries with the sexiest smile her face that she had reserved only for him, wearing nothing but a silk gown that he would soon remove after he pushed her onto the desk and made love to her. There amongst other places is where he'd worship her body like she deserves, his name, the only words leaving her lips as he'd capture her heart and hold it for all eternity. It didn't matter if it took 50 years or less he would worship every inch with all of his being.

The screech of tyres brought him out of his reverie and he shot out to the main area to see what the commotion was. He saw Russo getting out of a car and limping towards them, a gun tucked behind his back and he was on the verge of opening his mouth to speak but before a sound even left his mouth he dropped to the floor like a stone. There stood behind him was nothing short of beautiful, well that is what Phil Coulson thought anyhow, but to the other non biased observer it was a bloody, battered and pissed off Melinda May. She made her way up the ramp, "Wheels up in five." Phil went to take a look at her and just put a hand on the sexiest woman alive, whilst Ward just stood there watching the scene awaiting his next order, she batted his hand away, "I said get the plane ready, I need a shower." He watched her limp up of the ramp and he thanked whoever was listening for returning her home.

She entered her domain and the door slammed shut, she lent with her back against the door and let out a sigh that reverberated around the room. She saw the way that Phil had looked at her but she was sure she had not imagined the relief on his face but was almost sure she imagined the look of love and longing, maybe it was an illusion, an endless want that would never been fulfilled leaving a gaping sore in her heart.

After the shower she went down to the lab in order to stitch herself up, she knew they had glue but she liked to feel the needles piercing her skin, it made her feel something and let her know that she was alive. Before she could even pierce her skin with the needle, her head shot up, she could smell that familiar smell, the one that made butterflies in her stomach and heart beat faster.

"You know we have this stuff for a reason." He reach up to the cupboard behind her head and it happened again, the sweats, the heart race and the blood rushing through her ears. Little did she know that Phil was having an even bigger problem and if she leant back, he was in serious trouble not for what she would certainly feel south of the belt line but because he wouldn't stop himself from wrapping his arms around her and planting a soul searing kiss on her lips.

She hopped up on the bed and waited with baited breath as Coulson approached, her mind conjured up a thousand and one images ranging from 'U' to a downright 'XXX' and boy, did it get hot in there, nothing to do with the raging infection that was taking hold of her body. He slowly pulled the strap of her bra and top gently down her shoulder, her breath hitched but she is praying that he doesn't hear her because she doesn't want to hear the excuses of, "I only see you as a friend," or "I am still in love with someone else," conversation. What she is not realising is Phil is having an even bigger problem, all he wanted was to do the same to the other strap and show May how he truly feels including laying her down on metal bed and paying homage with his mouth. He is dying to know if she tastes just as he remembers but he values his teeth so he decided not to bother.

He applies the derma-glue, presses the sterile gauze to her wound and pulls up the strap but his hand lingers as he stares into her eyes and starts to lean forward. Her eyes are glued to his lips and she is waiting, waiting again to feel those soft supple lips on hers once more and bring back the memories of years past but just at that precise moment he would touch her, "Just thought I'd let you know we need to reroute the plane, the train just stopped suddenly in the Italian countryside." Ward stood there looking ever the petulant child. He has attempted to claim her before but always fallen short and now he knows why.

"I'll come help" May says as she eases herself off the bed.

Ward with a surly attitude replies, "I got it." He stomps out of the lab with May wearing a bemused expression and Coulson wearing a murderous one behind her. Ward has just ruined a chance a chance that he probably won't get again.

What she isn't telling Coulson is that the green substance is still seeping out of the wound, she can see the patch turning green but she covers the patch with her top and leaves for her room before she is caught out.


	3. We know where Quinn is, whats he hiding?

Once everyone was back on the plane, Skye and Fitz followed Cybertek and his men to the house with the tracking device. No sooner had they crouched behind the car, May and Coulson approached from the clearance wearing the determined expressions that made them infamous amongst the ranks.

"I am glad that you did not go in without us," May and Phil started walking on ahead towards the entrance of the house. "knowing her she would release her hate-fu on us but I am so not saying that to her face." Skye and Fitz wore an amused expression but that soon disappeared when the responsibility of the task weighed her down, no one knew what was in there but they knew for sure they had to go in.

May stiffened, she felt a hand on the small of her back slowly rubbing the circles that she loved so much and calmed her when she was stressed or in other cases, aroused her to breaking point, she looked to her side and saw Phil in a world of his own oblivious to what he was doing, but he was driving her mad and turning her on. She just wished for once she could grabbed him by his neck and claim his lips whilst grazing her fingers down his neck, she knew it drove him wild but now was not the time for having these thoughts, but oh boy, she was hot.

They race through the large Italian Villa, taking down anything that moved unless it was Quinn; he had a stint in the fridge with his name written all over it. May had been separated from the rest of the group and was at present prowling the corridor with the grace of a black panther, silent but oh so deadly. She approached the end of the corridor, the door was shut but she could hear the whirring of machines so she knew that something was there but the more important thing is what was there behind the door.

It didn't take long for her to pick the lock and enter the room and that is when all hell broke loose. Mike Peterson, the mean-machine of Cybertek was waiting for her and standing at his side was Quinn, the smug SOB. Quinn looked like his birthdays had come at once, he raised his arm which held a night-night pistol. "Well you're not Coulson but you are the next best thing, if I can't shoot him, then I guess I'll just have to shoot his beloved Melinda May instead."

"Quinn, if you come anywhere near me I'll rip you limb from limb and enjoy every second doing!" Whilst Quinn knew this was possible he also knew Peterson was there and before May could raise a hand, something shot around her throat with a grip so tight she thought it would crush her wind pipe and snap her neck. Mike Peterson had stood in front Quinn and put May in his version of a death lock. May could not breathe and she could see spots appearing in front of eyes, she knew that if she didn't get out of it soon then he would surely kill her. Living up to her well earned but loathed nickname, she summoned the strength of the Calvary and raised both her knees swiftly knocking the wind out of Mike Peterson but that was short lived and did nothing but caused him to stumble backwards and release May. She dropped to her knees and breathed the air that her lungs so desperately needed but the rate was not fast enough. She looked up and saw the gun aimed at her face, with nothing around to throw and not enough time to take the gun she stood up and faced Quinn knowing that this was probably the last time she would ever see a sunrise and she would never see Phil's face again but the more important fact is that he would live. Her main thought, "Coulson doesn't even know that I love him."

Coulson had no idea what was going on but he felt the fear of Odin himself was racing through his body, he did not know how or where she was but instincts guided him. It felt as though her soul was calling him, just him and he would be damned if he didn't answer the call of the woman that he loved.

He raced down the hall and came to a screeching halt outside the door that had now started to emanate an unknown aura around the entrance but he walked through the door anyway and that was when his heart plummeted and his whole world came crashing to the ground because of what he saw before him, he saw his angel on the floor surrounded by a pool of blood.

Without even thinking of the consequences or who could be lurking in the shadows, he ran across the room and grabbed hold of the love of his life.

"Speak to me, please May I am ordering you to speak to me, for love the of god speak to me. I didn't get the chance to say it! You cannot leave me without letting me have the chance to say it!" The tears ran free as the stallions running over open planes and he didn't care if who saw it.

The once stoic Phil was on his knees praying to any deity that would hear his call and keep her breathing until the they get here, he had a tracker attached to him so he knows it won't be long before the team come running through the door but how long is too long. All he could do was sit there and wait holding his reason for living and think, 'And I will love thee still, my dear, while the sands o' life shall run.' and boy, did he hope that those sands of time will run for years to come whilst he showed her just why she was his reason for living.

The door burst open and the team skidded to a halt as they witnessed the scene before them, they saw May white as a sheet of snow and Coulson holding her with tear streaks down his face and a look that clearly showed how scared he truly was. Ward and Fitz came forward and put her on a bed but not before prising her body from Coulson who feared that when he let her go this was it, "She'll survive I am sure of it." was what he heard, from who he did not know but he would gladly give all his possessions including his Captain America Trading cards if in return his angel woke up again.


	4. The Coma and the Confessions

After Phil had been ordered to clean up bit Simmons for two reasons, one she did not want any contaminations but equally important, to give his body time to relax whilst they made May more presentable. He felt the shower beating on his back and whilst he was clean he was still weary and still as lonely as when they removed her small limp lifeless body from his arms.

He was just in the process of drying off and buttoning up his shirt when he saw the cut on his forearm and eye, a light bulb went off above his head praying that he was onto something. He raced out of the door and down to Fitzsimmons at record speed that he nearly knocked Ward clean down the stairs if it hadn't been for his quick reflexes.

Fitzsimmons were deep in discussion when the doors open and in burst a flustered but hopeful looking Coulson. Before they had a chance to utter a word he states, "I think I am the cure or more importantly the GH325 is, it brought me back and if we inject her then it should do the same or at least I hope that it does."

He was just about to carry on but Simmons interjected, "Sir, we don't have any it was destroyed in the explosion and what we do have was no where near the dose that was injected into your body."

Phil looked crestfallen and close to tears , "What about my blood? My blood has GH325 in it and combined with what little we have, would that work?"

Simmons knew that May meant so much to him but this was a risk beyond belief, a risk only true love would commence with but no way in hell would she say that cause she valued Phil as a friend, a boss and valued her job.

"We could try Sir, but I am making no promises as there are so many factors including your blood that could change the whole scope of outcomes."

"I don't care just do it ,I would rather lose her knowing that I have tried everything rather than watch life slowly drift away and trying nothing at all."

"I'll set up the equipment, we can try in 10 mins. The longer we leave it, the less chance S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters have when we get her there."

May had been in this coma like state for over 1 week and they knew that the longer they left this, the less chance there was of her ever waking up or surviving without any prospects of brain damage.

The machine was breathing for her so they seriously needed to find a cure or else she would become dependant and they knew that she would not stand for it, but was willing to try everything before he had to make that final call.

Phil sat in the corner of the glass chamber and watched the ventilator push the oxygen and life into Mays body. He shuffled his chair up to the bed, took hold of her hand and stroke her hair.

"Well Melinda we'

ve gone and done it this time haven't we? I told you that I would protect you and yeah, I know your answer would be that you can take care of yourself, but as I said in our wedding vows and I still say now, I would lay down my life for you, love you and take out anyone who even considered harming you. We are after Quinn as we speak and he better have some top notch protection because I am going to rip his heart out through his nose. I wish I would have told- no, shown you how I feel and that even after Bahrain, I am still here watching you from afar, admiring your body, heart but most of all your Soul. I love you so much and the thought that you are no longer going to be on this Bus with me or anywhere for that matter, is something that I cannot even bare to live with, so it won't be long till I follow you, if those gorgeous soul piercing eyes don't open."

The tears begun to fall and drop onto the blankets that surrounded her body and protected her from the cold but before anyone could see he dried his eyes and became the stoic figure everyone knew.

What Phil had missed was the twitching of Melinda's eyes, there was a spike on the machine showing that her brain had been responding to every word that was said and more so when her hands felt the droplets of Phil's tears.

The door opened and Simmons walked in to the lab with the vial of Coulson's blood and the remaining GH325 injecting it into the cannula that was inserted into Mays' hand, now all they could do is wait and hope that the GH325 even in its diluted state did the job and help May's body to heal.

Everyone else left the lab for the night but no one dare tell Coulson that he needed to leave, Coulson never raised his voice but no one was stupid enough to push him in this situation as they valued their life and their job. He sat their listening to the beeping of the ventilator, watching her chest go up and down and prayed.

It was part way through the night when he felt something stroking his face, his hair and across his lips. He shot up in the seat looking around but there was nothing but him, a sleeping May and the machines, nothing had registered entrance on the doors, but for love of anything, it had felt real, he was sure it was real but what was it?

He had been awake for 72 hours but his faith had not diminished, he dropped his head down to the bed and waited, not seeing Mays hand lift up into the air…. 


	5. Reawaking in more ways than one

Coulson had been banished to his room, exhaustion kicking and to be honest he looks like rubbish. He has been told to shower, shave and have a good tidy up before he even considers coming down to see her again, if May got up and saw him in that state well that is all that it took to see that he went and undergone some basic hygiene.

He had just put on cufflinks, looking ever the Coulson that everyone knew, stoic and brave but never showing how he truly feels no matter if his world is falling apart, when the intercom beeps, "Err sir, I seriously think that you should come down hear immediately and do not stop for anything."

Coulson knew something had to have occurred for Simmons to talk to him in that way and so with that thought in mind he set off at breakneck speed.

He walked to the door with Fitzsimmons waiting outside; Simmons put her hand up and said, "Sir I wish I could explain what has happened but nothing that I have ever read, researched or experimented on could explain what the hell has been going on, but after this I'm putting in a request which I beg you to consider and let me research your blood."

Coulson was not sure how to take this, did that mean that the blood and serum hadn't worked, partially worked or a complete recovery had been made. He did not even want to think about the alternatives cause that would mean that he had to live his existence, however long, that maybe didn't include May in it and he didn't care if she was a friend or a lover as long as she was here.

Fitzsimmons moved aside and Coulson made the few steps but that present moment it felt like miles, his heart beating ever faster and with the final steps the doors separated and there laid his angel with her eyes still closed and the heart monitor beating steady but what he had noticed was the absence of a ventilator aiding her lungs to breathe.

He turned around and said, "Is this was you called me down here for?"

Exasperation and pain evident in his voice but before either of the scientists could answer the more purist, sexiest, pulse increasing sound in any world could be heard, "No Phil, they called you down for me now wipe that look of your face you're making me feel ill."

He turned around and even though she was in the ugly hospital attire and tubes sticking in her body but she was wearing the sexiest smile he had ever had the chance to witness. He audibly swallowed and in the silent room the sound echoed over the four corners of the room and he stared for an immeasurable amount of time.

Fitzsimmons slowly left the room but with the way Phil was staring at her a herd of elephants could have ran through the bus and he would never have known for all that played in his vision was Melinda May. Phil thought that May had never heard any of the heart felt pleas that he had uttered throughout the last two weeks but she had heard every single soul dancing word, but she wasn't going to let him know that just yet.

"I want a shower."

"Its good to see you." both started at the same time but stuttered and stared.

"Before I deal with anything I would like to shower, I feel like I've been dragged around by the wheels of this bus."

Coulson just gave her a stupid 'school boy in love' grin, which he was vaguely aware he was wearing. May snapped her fingers "Phil, you in there?"

Coulson blinked and just said, "Sure, yeah. Whatever you need. I'll just get Simmons."

"I don't need a babysitter," May said with a childish sulk.

"If you think for a minute that you are getting a shower on your own then you need your head checking before you leave because you have no chance."

With that Coulson walked out of the chamber leaving Simmons to deal with a sulking May.

Coulson was pacing his office like a wild animal caged and could do nothing but performing for the tourists when in fact all he wanted to do was go and be in that shower with May. He thought he could hold in it but he wanted to worship her, show her and tell for the rest of their days just what she meant to him but he knew he didn't have a chance.

"You're just being dumb Phil, she doesn't want or need you, she has never shown anything but-" and that was how his internal debate continued.

Now most people would have knocked before entering their bosses office but Melinda may was not 'most people' and in she strode in, like she owned the place but more importantly stopping the infamous Phil Coulson in his stride. His head whipped to the side and before he had the chance to utter a simple 'hello' or give himself whiplash, he found himself shoved into a seating position on his desk and his lap suddenly occupied with the one and only Melinda May.

Phil Coulson was very rarely rendered speechless but his hands were full and his brain he seeped out of his noise, all he did was stare like a guppy fish and praying this was not a lust-fuelled dream like the others he had on previous occasions.

"Now listen to me because I am fed up of dancing, denying and ignoring what I feel for you. I heard it Phil heard your pleas, your prayers and your declarations and I want you to know that you were partly responsible for me returning to life but more importantly returning my heart. The day we separated was the day my soul was ripped in two you are the reason I want to smile, the reason I want to laugh and the person I want to see when I wake up in the morning. All I can say is I do not how I will love, but I know that it will be forever. Are you ready for your forever with me?"

May waited for Phil's brain to engage with his mouth but she was making it difficult for him by peppering his neck, face and features with angelic kisses and rocking her hips in his lap and that would break most men. She opened the top of his shirt and saw the scar, that distinctive scar over his heart, scar that almost broke his heart and his world in two, but before she could get much further, she found herself hoisted in the air by a very animated and aroused Phil Coulson.

He strode through the room with a purpose; a purpose that he had every intention of showing Melinda May this very second.

May had removed his jacket, tie and shirt with ease with the experience of old lovers that are coming together and breathing as one for all the of time. She knew something had changed and this something was for the better, but in the middle of her thought process, she was delicately dropped to the bed and what hovered over her was the most handsome thing that she had ever seen.

He looked just the same save a scar or two but she would not change him for the world and she was glad that he was her world, he ducked his head down to her and placed the sweetest kiss above her heart.

Her clothing had somehow disappeared and she stared incredulously at Phil Coulson and all he did was give her a soul searing kiss.

"May there is no way on heaven, earth or all that is in-between that you are ever leaving this bed or me and I am going to make sure you are shown every minute of every day."

"I am sure the guys would wonder where we were if we never came out and I am sure Shield HQ would be questioning your disappearance" a smirk lace her beautiful features.

"Ok, I will give you that," Phil replied as he looked at her with growing intensity, "But seriously I don't ever want to go to sleep without looking at your face or waking up without staring in your eyes and showing you how much I love you and right now, at this very second I am going to show you just that."

May was going to utter a retort, but was quickly silenced as Coulson started to pay homage her body, starting with her slender neck, and boy did he do just that long into the night, engraving the message on her heart ensuring she would never forget how much she meant to Coulson, the fear that he had endured thinking that he would never be able to do just this.

It was a full two days later that they had managed to escape from each other's clutches in the locked bedroom, thoroughly sated but souls flying free and wearing a blinding smile on their faces.

No one knew what the future would hold, but one thing was certain, they would endure whatever it was together.


End file.
